Menu resource
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A menu resource defines an application menu—an options menu, context menu, or submenu—that can be inflated with MenuInflater.
For a guide to using menus, see Add menus.
- file location:
res/menu/filename.xml
The filename is used as the resource ID- compiled resource datatype:
- Resource pointer to a
Menu (or subclass) resource - resource reference:
- In Java:
R.menu.filename
In XML: @[package:]menu.filename - syntax:
-
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"> <item android:id="@[+][package:]id/resource_name" android:title="string" android:titleCondensed="string" android:icon="@[package:]drawable/drawable_resource_name" android:onClick="method name" android:showAsAction=["ifRoom" | "never" | "withText" | "always" | "collapseActionView"] android:actionLayout="@[package:]layout/layout_resource_name" android:actionViewClass="class name" android:actionProviderClass="class name" android:alphabeticShortcut="string" android:alphabeticModifiers=["META" | "CTRL" | "ALT" | "SHIFT" | "SYM" | "FUNCTION"] android:numericShortcut="string" android:numericModifiers=["META" | "CTRL" | "ALT" | "SHIFT" | "SYM" | "FUNCTION"] android:checkable=["true" | "false"] android:visible=["true" | "false"] android:enabled=["true" | "false"] android:menuCategory=["container" | "system" | "secondary" | "alternative"] android:orderInCategory="integer" /> <group android:id="@[+][package:]id/resource name" android:checkableBehavior=["none" | "all" | "single"] android:visible=["true" | "false"] android:enabled=["true" | "false"] android:menuCategory=["container" | "system" | "secondary" | "alternative"] android:orderInCategory="integer" > <item /> </group> <item > <menu> <item /> </menu> </item> </menu>
- elements:
-
- Required. This must be the root node. Contains
<item> and/or <group> elements. Attributes:
xmlns:android- XML namespace. Required. Defines the XML namespace, which must be
"http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android".
<item>- A menu item. Might contain a
<menu> element (for a submenu). Must be a child of a <menu> or <group> element. Attributes:
android:id- Resource ID. A unique resource ID. To create a new resource ID for this item, use the form:
"@+id/name". The plus symbol indicates that this is created as a new ID. android:title- String resource. The menu title as a string resource or raw string.
android:titleCondensed- String resource. A condensed title as a string resource or a raw string. This title is used for situations in which the normal title is too long.
android:icon- Drawable resource. An image to be used as the menu item icon.
android:onClick- Method name. The method to call when this menu item is clicked. The method must be declared in the activity as public. It accepts a
MenuItem as its only parameter, which indicates the item clicked. This method takes precedence over the standard callback to onOptionsItemSelected(). See the example at the end of this page. Warning: If you obfuscate your code using ProGuard or a similar tool, be sure to exclude the method you specify in this attribute from renaming, because it can break the functionality.
Introduced in API level 11.
android:showAsAction- Keyword. When and how this item appears as an action item in the app bar. A menu item can appear as an action item only when the activity includes an app bar. Valid values:
| Value | Description |
|---|
ifRoom | Only place this item in the app bar if there is room for it. If there isn't room for all the items marked "ifRoom", the items with the lowest orderInCategory values are displayed as actions, and the remaining items are displayed in the overflow menu. |
withText | Also include the title text (defined by android:title) with the action item. You can include this value along with one of the others as a flag set by separating them with a pipe |. |
never | Never place this item in the app bar. Instead, list the item in the app bar's overflow menu. |
always | Always place this item in the app bar. Avoid using this unless it's critical that the item always appear in the action bar. Setting multiple items to always appear as action items can result in them overlapping with other UI in the app bar. |
collapseActionView | The action view associated with this action item (as declared by android:actionLayout or android:actionViewClass) is collapsible.
Introduced in API level 14. |
See Add the app bar for more information.
Introduced in API level 11.
android:actionLayout- Layout resource. A layout to use as the action view.
For more information, see Use action views and action providers.
Introduced in API level 11.
android:actionViewClass- Class name. A fully-qualified class name for the
View to use as the action view. For example, "android.widget.SearchView" to use SearchView as an action view. For more information, see Use action views and action providers.
Warning: If you obfuscate your code using ProGuard or a similar tool, be sure to exclude the class you specify in this attribute from renaming, because it can break the functionality.
Introduced in API level 11.
android:actionProviderClass- Class name. A fully qualified class name for the
ActionProvider to use in place of the action item. For example, "android.widget.ShareActionProvider" to use ShareActionProvider. For more information, see Use action views and action providers.
Warning: If you obfuscate your code using ProGuard or a similar tool, be sure to exclude the class you specify in this attribute from renaming, because it can break the functionality.
Introduced in API level 14.
android:alphabeticShortcut- Char. A character for the alphabetic shortcut key.
android:numericShortcut- Integer. A number for the numeric shortcut key.
android:alphabeticModifiers- Keyword. A modifier for the menu item's alphabetic shortcut. The default value corresponds to the Control key. Valid values:
| Value | Description |
|---|
META | Corresponds to the Meta meta key. |
| CTRL | Corresponds to the Control meta key. |
| ALT | Corresponds to the Alt meta key. |
| SHIFT | Corresponds to the Shift meta key. |
| SYM | Corresponds to the Sym meta key. |
| FUNCTION | Corresponds to the Function meta key. |
Note: You can specify multiple keywords in an attribute. For example, android:alphabeticModifiers="CTRL|SHIFT" indicates that to trigger the corresponding menu item, the user needs to press both the Control and Shift meta keys along with the shortcut.
You can use the setAlphabeticShortcut() method to set the attribute values programmatically. For more information about the alphabeticModifier attribute, see alphabeticModifiers.
android:numericModifiers- Keyword. A modifier for the menu item's numeric shortcut. The default value corresponds to the Control key. Valid values:
| Value | Description |
|---|
| META | Corresponds to the Meta meta key. |
| CTRL | Corresponds to the Control meta key. |
| ALT | Corresponds to the Alt meta key. |
| SHIFT | Corresponds to the Shift meta key. |
| SYM | Corresponds to the Sym meta key. |
| FUNCTION | Corresponds to the Function meta key. |
Note: You can specify multiple keywords in an attribute. For example, android:numericModifiers="CTRL|SHIFT" indicates that to trigger the corresponding menu item, the user needs to press both the Control and Shift meta keys along with the shortcut.
You can use the setNumericShortcut() method to set the attribute values programmatically. For more information about the numericModifier attribute, see numericModifiers.
android:checkable- Boolean. True if the item is checkable.
android:checked- Boolean. True if the item is checked by default.
android:visible- Boolean. True if the item is visible by default.
android:enabled- Boolean. True if the item is enabled by default.
android:menuCategory- Keyword. Value corresponding to the
Menu CATEGORY_* constants, which define the item's priority. Valid values: | Value | Description |
|---|
container | For items that are part of a container. |
system | For items that are provided by the system. |
secondary | For items that are user-supplied secondary (infrequently used) options. |
alternative | For items that are alternative actions on the data that is currently displayed. |
android:orderInCategory- Integer. The order of importance of the item within a group.
<group>- A menu group, to create a collection of items that share traits, such as whether they are visible, enabled, or selectable. Contains one or more
<item> elements. Must be a child of a <menu> element. Attributes:
android:id- Resource ID. A unique resource ID. To create a new resource ID for this item, use the form:
"@+id/name". The plus symbol indicates that this is created as a new ID. android:checkableBehavior- Keyword. The type of selectable behavior for the group. Valid values:
| Value | Description |
|---|
none | Not selectable. |
all | All items can be selected (use checkboxes). |
single | Only one item can be selected (use radio buttons). |
android:visible- Boolean. True if the group is visible.
android:enabled- Boolean. True if the group is enabled.
android:menuCategory- Keyword. Value corresponding to the
Menu CATEGORY_* constants, which define the group's priority. Valid values: | Value | Description |
|---|
container | For groups that are part of a container. |
system | For groups that are provided by the system. |
secondary | For groups that are user-supplied secondary (infrequently used) options. |
alternative | For groups that are alternative actions on the data that is currently displayed. |
android:orderInCategory- Integer. The default order of the items within the category.
- example:
- XML file saved at
res/menu/example_menu.xml: <menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"> <item android:id="@+id/item1" android:title="@string/item1" android:icon="@drawable/group_item1_icon" app:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText"/> <group android:id="@+id/group"> <item android:id="@+id/group_item1" android:onClick="onGroupItemClick" android:title="@string/group_item1" android:icon="@drawable/group_item1_icon" /> <item android:id="@+id/group_item2" android:onClick="onGroupItemClick" android:title="@string/group_item2" android:icon="@drawable/group_item2_icon" /> </group> <item android:id="@+id/submenu" android:title="@string/submenu_title" app:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" > <menu> <item android:id="@+id/submenu_item1" android:title="@string/submenu_item1" /> </menu> </item> </menu>
The following application code inflates the menu from the onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu) callback and also declares the on-click callback for two of the items:
Kotlin
override fun onCreateOptionsMenu(menu: Menu): Boolean { menuInflater.inflate(R.menu.example_menu, menu) return true } fun onGroupItemClick(item: MenuItem) { // One of the group items (using the onClick attribute) was clicked. // The item parameter passed here indicates which item it is. // All other menu item clicks are handled by Activity.onOptionsItemSelected. } Java
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) { MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater(); inflater.inflate(R.menu.example_menu, menu); return true; } public void onGroupItemClick(MenuItem item) { // One of the group items (using the onClick attribute) was clicked. // The item parameter passed here indicates which item it is. // All other menu item clicks are handled by Activity.onOptionsItemSelected. }
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Last updated 2025-02-10 UTC.
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